Fox in the Penalty Area

"...The recent high-profile incident of Hu Lai's stay abroad has finally been settled after some twists and turns. Surprisingly, neither the King of Madrid nor the Catalan United, which was rumored before, is the final destination of Hu Lai...According to the latest news, The Premier League team Leeds City Club officially announced that they have reached an agreement with Anton Stars Club to officially introduce Anton Stars' main striker Hu Lai... Neither party has announced the specific transfer fee, but according to media estimates, the final transfer fee should be It's around 12 million pounds, close to 14 million euros..."

"...The Flash Star Club agreed to Leeds City to pay the transfer fee in two installments, but at the same time added a clause for the second transfer fee. It is reported that if Leeds City wants to sell Hu Lai in the future, then according to the contract, Flash Star will be able to share the transfer fee. Twenty percent of the transfer fee..."

When Xie Lan saw the news on TV, her son had already left home a day ago and returned to Jincheng.

She knew that her son's return to the club was for the transfer, and he had been running between Jincheng and Dongchuan during that time.

She herself knew the final result earlier than the news - because her son had already prepared to take a plane from Jincheng when he left home a day ago with a lot of luggage.

"I heard that it will take almost 20 hours to fly from Jincheng to Leeds with a transit..." Facing the TV news, Xie Lan sighed. "It won't be easy to come back in the future."

Hu Lixin comforted her from the side: "Actually, it's still the same as before? He was in Jincheng before, and the high-speed rail took 35 minutes, and he didn't come back usually? Isn't it also after a season that he came home?"

"Why is it the same?" Xie Lan stared at him and asked, "In the past, he was in Jincheng, a place that could be reached in 35 minutes by high-speed rail. I always felt that whenever I wanted to see him, I could just buy a ticket. Look at him, and I will go home again at night. After he goes to Leeds, how can I just go and see him?"

Hu Lixin murmured, "I didn't see you before, so I went to see him..."

"What did you say?" Xie Lan asked back.

"It's nothing, it's nothing..." Hu Lixin waved his hands quickly.

Xie Lan didn't continue to question Hu Lixin, but sighed again: "Besides, he went there alone, he was not familiar with the place, and he didn't know if he was used to eating there... It's not that the British food is terrible. Is it too cold in Leeds? I can’t get used to those new teammates... Besides, there is an eight-hour time difference between us and there, right? If the game is played on the night there, wouldn’t it be our side? In the middle of the night?"

Hu Lixin listened to his wife's nagging worries, but did not speak.

Now he doesn't know how to comfort his wife.

Because those worries are all justified.

Especially the last point.

Although most of the Premier League games are played in the afternoon, it is still friendly to Chinese TV audiences, at least better than La Liga.

However, in order to meet the needs of TV broadcasting, the current Premier League has already changed the previous tradition of only putting all games on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, and some games will be scheduled in the evening of local time. That is the local prime time in the UK, which is not friendly to Chinese fans, because it will be the early hours of the next day in Beijing time.

For example, at half past one or half past three.

It looks very uncomfortable - stay up all night, can't bear it. Set the alarm clock and get up to watch the game in the middle of the night, if you can't get up...

In the past, the couple only needed to watch their son's games through live TV during the prime time in the afternoon or evening. This is one of the important reasons why Xie Lan didn't feel how far his son was from her in terms of psychological distance.

After all, you can see your son at the best time every week.

But with Hu Lai's transfer to Leeds City, the space-time distance will double the psychological distance.

But what is the solution to this problem?

No solution.

I can only slowly adapt to this kind of life that is separated by thousands of miles, and even the time can't match.

When the news of Hu Lai's successful transfer to the Premier League team Leeds City was officially confirmed, although the Chinese fans on the Internet felt sorry for Hu Lai's failure to become the King of Madrid or the Catalan United, most of them still wished Hu Lai , happy for him to take the step of studying abroad. And because he didn't go to a wealthy team, it was easier for him to get a chance to play. Fans can't wait to start looking forward to Hou Lai's performance in the Premier League...

Some fans found a photo of Leeds City club coach Tony Clark, and found that he was exactly the same as one of the two foreign fans interviewed by CCTV before the Olympic team played Argentina. Needless to say, that is the head coach of Leeds City. It turned out that he went to the Olympic Games to watch the Olympic team's game just to observe Hu Lai. This made netizens exclaim, "I didn't expect the fate of the two parties to have been buried at that time."

The celebration on the Internet continued, and at the same time, in an elevator apartment in Dongchuan Town next to Jincheng, a middle-aged couple was saddened by it.

※※※

"...Since Qin Lin ended his overseas career in Germany and returned to the Chinese Super League in 2011, there has never been a male football player in Chinese football who has been able to go abroad to prove himself in Europe... and now Hu Lai's transfer to Leeds City is regarded by everyone. A great breakthrough for Chinese football... It is reported that the reason why Hu Lai was able to obtain the Premier League labor permit was due to his outstanding performance during the Olympics, especially the hat-trick against the Argentine Olympic team... Leeds City Club Mr. Nevin Ball, Director of Sport, believes that Hu Lai has extremely high talent, and the English Football Association has passed the special talent clause for Leeds City Club to apply for Hu Lai based on this..."

"A special genius..." Qin Qi put down his phone, recalling the news he just saw on the Internet.

Then he turned to look at his father: "Dad, do you think Hu Lai's achievements will surpass yours?"

"What nonsense are you talking about..." Wang Yuan said angrily, wondering if her son had recently entered puberty, so rebellious, he was frantically probing on the verge of death every day.

But to Wang Yuan's surprise, her husband didn't show his father's authority to his son, but nodded his head: "I'm sure? If the young people nowadays are not as good as me, then what a fart... "

Wang Yuan coughed and reminded her husband not to swear in front of the children.

Qin Lin also realized this, he coughed to cover up his embarrassment.

Qin Qi didn't care about the secret signal from his parents before, he turned his head and looked in the direction of the single-family villa outside the window.

The season is over long ago, and the tenants there have all been away for a while, going home, going on vacation.

They will come back before the start of the new season training camp in January next year, so it will be lively again...right?

Qin Qi was not very sure, because he thought that neither Hu Lai nor Chen Xingyi would come back here.

There are only four people left in such a big house, will they continue to live here?

The teenager realized that it was definitely not just that someone left, but that his life had also been profoundly changed.

"Dad, am I...can't play football with them anymore?" Qin Qi asked without looking back.

Behind him, his father didn't answer him, maybe even he didn't know the answer to this question.

"It would be great if everyone could still be like this season..." Qin Qi sighed.

His mother comforted him: "Is there any banquet in the world that lasts forever?"

Qin Qi didn't accept his mother's comfort, he was still looking in that direction in a daze.

※※※

Luo Kai is sitting in the coach's office of the Dongchuan Middle School football team. On the wall next to him are two jerseys. One is the jersey of the Chinese Olympic team that won the U23 Asian Cup championship, and the other is the Chinese Olympic team's participation in the Olympic Games. jersey.

Both jerseys bear his signature.

Of course there is also Hu Lai's signature.

"It seems that you already know the latest news..." Li Ziqiang said to Luo Kai who was shrouded in low air pressure. "I thought you wouldn't be here today."

Three days ago, Luo Kai made an appointment with him to come to see him, but after what happened today, based on Li Ziqiang's understanding of the relationship between Luo Kai and Hu Lai, he thought that Luo Kai would not come because I'm afraid he's not in the mood to go out.

Who would have thought that he would still see this young man in his office.

"I promised that the coach would come to see you." Luo Kai squeezed out a smile, but it was uglier than crying.

"It's really not necessary." Li Ziqiang waved his hand.

Luo Kai didn't speak, and the office fell into a silence.

This was completely different from the situation where Hu Lai was present. If Hu Lai was here, Li Ziqiang wished he could seal his mouth with tape.

But now facing the silent Luo Kai, Li Ziqiang also felt a little uncomfortable.

These two people can become rivals... It doesn't seem to be surprising at all.

But letting Luo Kai go down like this doesn't seem to be the answer...

Thinking of this, Li Ziqiang took the lead to break the silence: "Do you now feel that 'you are born bright when you are born'?"

Luo Kai looked up at the coach, opened his mouth slightly, but did not answer.

But his silence already gave the answer.

Li Ziqiang shook his head: "Actually, I think it's fortunate that you met Hu Lai. Without him, you would be just an ordinary professional player, and you might not even take the professional path... Did you have any pursuits in football at first? "

"Yes, I..." Luo Kai defended himself.

Li Ziqiang interrupted him with a wave of his hand: "Why didn't you go to Jiaxiang in high school? Or just go to the echelon of a professional team? You know Hu Lai's first virtue, except for a little talent, nothing can do. But I give He has completed all the training content he arranged. I can see that he cherishes the opportunity to play football. Your starting point is countless times higher than his, and your conditions are much better than his, but that At that time, you were far less pure about football than he was."

Luo Kai was stunned by the coach's merciless words.

"So if you don't meet Hu Lai. You may also choose to go professional, but your achievements will be far less than what you are now. Football may be just a simple job to make money for you...you have Maybe he hasn’t been the main player in the team yet.” Li Ziqiang continued to say unceremoniously.

"But now you are competing with Hu Lai, you are also competing with yourself, which is what you have achieved today. So I think it is a good thing for you that he goes abroad to play football. If you really want to beat him , then keep working hard and make yourself better. It’s okay for you to treat Hu Lai as your opponent, but don’t treat him as your demon.”

Just then, the school bell rang outside.

Li Ziqiang asked Luo Kai who was in a daze: "Do you want to practice with my players?"

Luo Kai got up quickly: "Okay!"

"Go change your shoes, there should be your size in the equipment room."

Luo Kai turned and went out.

Li Ziqiang stared at the two jerseys on the wall in a daze.

In fact, he only realized the idea of ​​inner demon recently.

that kid...

It has become the heart demon of many people.

※※※

Lin Zhiyuan took out his mobile phone and sent a WeChat message to his agent Qiu Xinrong: "Uncle Qiu, there must be a foreign-study clause in the new contract - if there are European clubs interested in me in the future, the South China Tigers can't stop it!"

"Your kid is very irritated by Hu Lai... Do you know how difficult this condition is?"

"I don't care! Uncle Qiu, you are so awesome, you can definitely talk about it. I will definitely go to Europe in the future!"

"Okay, I'll do my best..."

"Don't try your best, Uncle Qiu. You can do it! Come on! Fuck you!"

"roll roll roll!"

※※※

After becoming the manager of Champion Legend Brokerage Company, Yong Jun has left his family in the capital to go to Hu Lai's side.

For this reason, Zhang Qinghuan's mother, Ren Changmei, specially invited Yong Jun's wife, Zeng Qian, to her home as a guest. On the one hand, she kept in touch with each other on a daily basis, and on the other hand, she was afraid that Zeng Qian would feel lonely.

At the dinner table, Zeng Qian suddenly asked this question: "Qing Huan, do you have any plans to go abroad?"

Zhang Qinghuan nodded first, and then shook his head: "Yes, but not now. It will be a matter of the future if I want to leave. Now Shanxing has just lost Hu Lai and Chen Xingyi. If I want to leave again, I will be completely finished... ..."

Zeng Qian smiled and said: "As long as you have this idea, let your uncle Yong pay attention to it."

"Well, Uncle Yong told me."

"At that time, let your mother go out with you! You left, and your mother is alone in the capital..."

Hearing what Aunt Zeng said, Zhang Qinghuan glanced at his mother. Aunt Zeng was right. If there was anything that made him hesitate to play football abroad, it was his mother.

Ren Changmei waved his hand: "I'm not going to go abroad with him. I live a good life in China. Why go to a place where I don't speak the language? Are you locked at home all day? Then you can't be crazy? Besides, he went to Jincheng Playing football, don’t I live well in the capital alone?”

Zeng Qian joked about her best friend: "Then what if Qing Huan goes out and finds you several foreign wives?"

"Aunt Zeng, I'm not that kind of person..." Zhang Qinghuan quickly waved his hands.

Ren Changmei curled her lips: "Then he has won glory for the country!"

"mom!"

The women all laughed.

※※※

"Star, are you alright?"

"Ah?" Chen Xingyi, who was playing games on his mobile phone, looked up at his father in confusion. "What can I do?"

"Hu Lai is going to Europe now, don't be hit..."

Chen Xingyi rolled his eyes to his father: "Dad, your son is not as narrow-minded as Luo Kai."

"Oh, I thought you couldn't wait to go to Europe too..."

"Of course I'm going to Europe, but not now. Dillon is also a good coach. I think I can learn a lot under his leadership. When I go to Europe, it will be easier to adapt."

Seeing that his son had such a clear plan for his future, Chen Hantang nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, I can rest assured with your words."

"What do you think of your son, Dad..." Chen Xingyi was helpless. "I'm not a little kid who doesn't know anything!"

"Hehe, that's good, that's good..." Chen Hantang laughed dryly when he saw this, and quickly got up and left.

Chen Xingyi lowered his head and looked at his phone again. The game showed a "failure" screen, and his teammates were scolding him in the channel: "Hook dog, report it!"

"Damn!" Chen Xingyi turned to look for his father, the man had slipped out of his room.

※※※

"...It is reported that as soon as the winter transfer window opens, Hu Lai will set off for the UK to report to the Leeds City Club and train with his new teammates. We sincerely hope that he can integrate into the team as soon as possible and get familiar with the new environment and new life..."

Zhou Zijing swiped down the screen of his mobile phone and saw a photo of Hu Lai wearing a Leeds City jersey - this photo was produced by the domestic media with a computer, but in fact Hu Lai hadn't actually put on the jersey yet. But everyone obviously couldn't wait, so they changed this picture with a picture editing software.

P is so lifelike, it seems that Hu Lai has really played on behalf of Leeds City.

Zhou Zijing looked down, Hu Lai in the photo seemed to be looking at him too, the smile on his face seemed to be mocking him - I went to the Premier League, if you have the ability, you come to the Premier League to challenge me!

"Damn!" Zhou Zijing threw the phone on the bed irritably, with the screen facing down, so that he would not see Hu Lai's triumphant look.

Then he lay down on the bed, making the mattress springs creak and groan.

He followed suit with a sigh.

From high school to professional football, he pursued all the way, but in the end he pursued further and further...

Before, everyone was at home anyway, in the Chinese Super League. He could still play against Hu Lai and achieve his goal of defeating him.

Fortunately, Hu Lai has gone to Europe, how can I chase after him?

It's thousands of miles away!

Europe……

Is Europe that easy to go to? !

The more he thought about it, the more angry Zhou Zijing yelled on the bed, and slammed his hands down hard, making a muffled sound on the mattress.

※※※

"Meli, it's good that Hu didn't come to the King of Madrid!" Ramon Cantero said to Meli on the mobile phone.

"Yeah, that's great," Merry replied.

"To be honest, when the news came out that the King of Madrid was interested in him, I was very nervous. I was afraid that the King of Madrid would really sign that kid... Fortunately, that kid was not your teammate." Cantero is very happy, and his joy can be seen only from the text.

Meli: "Well, it's not that my teammates are too good."

Not teammates, so that we will have a chance to be rivals in the future, Hu Lai.

The only regret is that Hu Lai was not able to join the Catalan United. In that case, the two may meet in La Liga in a short time.

And now, who knows how long he will stay in that Premier League relegation team...

Hope it doesn't sink in.

Don't disappear until I beat you!

※※※

Although the team has not yet assembled and the players are still on vacation, the club's managers and coaches have long been involved in the preparations for the new season.

Zhao Kangming brought Dong Wen his signing list for the new season.

After Hu Lai and Chen Xingyi left, Shan Xing had to strengthen his offensive lineup, so he made a list for this. There are domestic players and foreign players on this list, hoping to make up for the loss of Hu Lai and Chen Xing.

Pushing open the door and entering, he saw Dong Wen sitting on the boss chair, looking intently at the mobile phone in his hand.

There is still a noisy sound coming from the phone speaker.

"What are you doing, old Dong?" Zhao Kangming asked curiously.

"Didn't Hu Lai go to Leeds today? I'm watching the live broadcast of seeing him off on my phone."

"Is there a live broadcast of this? Why not? Such a high standard?" Zhao Kangming was surprised.

When Hu Lai goes abroad to play football, he must be on all kinds of news, but the news belongs to the news. If it is a live broadcast, the treatment is completely different.

It was only after Zhao Kangming approached that he realized that it was a webcast...

But he was still taken aback by the number of fans and reporters on the screen: "So many people?"

"That's right, there are so many people!" Dong Wen said, and then sighed: "Actually, I should go and see him off, to show the support and importance that the Flash Star Club has for him..."

"Hu Lai said hello to us specifically, so we are not allowed to deliver it." Zhao Kangming said.

"Hey, I didn't expect him to be afraid of saying goodbye... Hey, what are you doing?" Dong Wen saw Zhao Kangming take out his mobile phone.

"Say goodbye to him. People can't go to the scene, so blessings must be delivered." Zhao Kangming, who bowed his head and typed, said.

Dong Wen hurriedly said to Zhao Kangming: "If I cut it out here, it won't be a live broadcast... You can also give me a message, Lao Zhao. Just say I wish him a safe journey, and if he doesn't get along well outside, you are welcome to come back at any time, Shan Star will always be his home, the door is open for him..."

"You have to type so many words yourself!"

Dong Wen looked at the live broadcast on his mobile phone and hesitated.

At the same time, an excited voice came from the mobile phone: "Okay! Now we can see that Hu Lai's car has parked outside the international departure entrance on the departure floor..."

※※※

"Wow!" Hu Lai, Song Jiajia, and Yong Jun just got out of the car when they were shaken by the flashing lights of the reporters waiting outside the terminal. "Is that an exaggeration?"

In front of him were dozens of reporters with guns and cameras, waiting for him outside the security gate of the terminal building.

In addition, there were even more fans holding banners, posters and various lights and slogans. They cheered and screamed when they saw him get off the car.

A large number of police officers were at the scene to maintain order, and a temporary traffic control was imposed on the departure floor of the T1 terminal of Dongsheng International Airport.

"It's not an exaggeration at all, Hu Lai. You are now the 'hope of the whole village'!" Yong Jun laughed beside him.

"Oh, I suddenly feel a lot of pressure... Should I pose and say: 'I won't come back if I don't get along'?" Hu Lai asked as he turned to look at the camera lens next to him , "This is not an advertisement, right? I really didn't sign this clothing brand..."

The photographer who was loyal to his work did not respond to Hu Lai's words. After all, he was just a photographer with no emotions. His job was to faithfully record Hu Lai's long journey from Jincheng to Leeds.

After joking, Hu Lai took out his phone from his pocket, and the small red dot on the WeChat icon showed that there were already dozens of unread messages.

First of all, someone in the top friends group sent a message @ him.

Wang Guangwei: "I'm sorry I can't go to the airport to see you off, Hu Lai, you have to work harder there!"

Xia Xiaoyu: "Brother Hu, come on! Win glory for the country!"

Zhang Qinghuan: "Good luck, Hu Lai."

Chen Xingyi: "I don't know what to say, anyway, let's go!"

Junpei Morikawa: "Husan, I will definitely go to Europe too, please wait for me!"

In addition to the news in the friends group, there are also messages from other people, and the content is similar. They are all cheering him up and wishing him good luck.

There are his teammates in Shining Star, and there are also teammates in the national team and the Olympic team.

There are the club's head coach Zhao, and the national team's head coach Shi Wuyin and others.

Even... and his teammates and classmates in Dongchuan Middle School.

In the news of these people, he saw a small red dot on Li Qingqing's profile picture, and clicked in:

"Welcome to Europe, Holly."

Seeing this sentence, he smiled slightly.

The crowd at the scene shouted: "Hu Lai, come on!"

"Safe trip, Hu Lai!"

"Good luck, Hu Lai!"

...

Amid the cheers, Hu Lai raised his hand and waved to them: "Thank you, thank you everyone!"

Under the nervous gaze of the police, Hu Lai did not linger at the scene, but quickly turned around and walked into the terminal building with Song Jiajia and Yong Jun until he disappeared from everyone's sight.

Chen Jianyu withdrew his gaze and looked down at the scene just captured by his mobile phone.

In the foreground are reporters and fans on three floors inside and outside. They held cameras, banners and posters to see Hu Lai off. The middle ground is the back view of three people pulling suitcases and walking in with bags on their backs, and Hu Lai is in the middle. The bustling crowd inside the terminal entrance gate is the vista.

In Chen Jianyu's eyes, the boy who faced the bluestone wall alone in the abandoned wasteland overlapped with the current background of Hu Lai.

There is a shallow white line on the stone wall, which outlines a goal crookedly, which is the gate to Xintiandi.

So the boy went from here to the world.

Chen Jianyu uploaded this photo to his social network authentication account, and accompanied it with a sentence:

From Qingping's insignificance, it turns into a hurricane to gallop into Taiyu.

(Note 2)

※※※

Many things I thought about before,

I don't know how to express it,

Only the wind whispered in my ears.

The luggage is ready,

The road is also in front of me,

It's hard to meet again today.

Dreams are ahead of the road,

Faintly shining, fascinating,

May you find it at last.

But there are also hot and cold winters in the distance,

Rainy nights, muddy roads,

Hope you have a safe journey.

May wandering bring you enough wisdom,

unwavering courage,

Rather than wear away your dreams.

May your journey be more smooth and less tortuous,

More joy, less sorrow.

If the sweetness of dreams becomes,

The suffering in reality,

Then you have to be brave...

(Note 2)

※※※

Note 1: This sentence comes from the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Some people have verified that this sentence is not in the original work. It should be the original scriptwriter of the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms". The general idea is: Although the origin is humble, but the body becomes the wind and sweeps the world.

Note 2: The song at the end of the chapter comes from Yin Wu's "Everyone's life is a long journey".

This song once appeared in the chapter when Qin Lin retired.

In addition, I also recommend Yin Wu's album of the same name. There are several good songs in it, such as "You Shed Tears While Smiling", "Okay, Okay", "Maybe", "Please Believe", and this song " Everyone's life is a journey."

PS, a large chapter of 7,000 words, so I have the cheek to ask for half a day off. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and there are many things to consider at the beginning of the new volume, how to layout, how to pave the way, how to shape the characters, and lead to the story... So write slowly, nothing deposit.

Let's start with an update today...

This concludes the third volume of Hu Lai's story, and he will also start a new chapter.

Later, I will also use a summary of the third volume to chat with you as usual - don’t worry about writing a single chapter without delaying the writing of the main text, because the single chapter is written very quickly and does not need to be conceived. I just want to take this opportunity to tell you Say something from your heart, brag about yourself, and find some confidence and motivation for yourself.

thank you all!

There is also an easter egg chapter at the end, which is the ending song, I hope you like it.